Anyone who bravely faces the high cost
of care without a financial backup is bound to lead an impoverished life. Meanwhile, an individual who is currently
planning his long term care should study his long term care insurance benefit period very well lest he
experiences the same fate as the person without a financial plan.
Long term care (LTC) costs do not cease
to increase year after year and this is why the public is being egged on to get
themselves a long term care insurance (LTCI) policy, as this is the only insurance
product that will protect their money and other properties from being wiped out
by the soaring rates of in-home care, assisted living, nursing home care, and hospice
care to name a few.
If only all Americans can veer away
from LTC costs they would but unfortunately around 70% of the elderly
population 65 years old and older will require care says the Department of
Health and Human Services. If you happen
to be one of them but you procrastinated on LTC planning until you ended up
with no clear plan at all, prepare that portion of your assets that you need to
hand over to estate recovery so that you can receive Medicaid coverage.
Meanwhile, if you do not wish to turn
to Medicaid and receive limited coverage, start weighing your LTCI policy options. Forget the rumors that this insurance product
will eat up your resources. That will
only happen if you wait another year before buying your policy.
What is it About the Long Term Care Insurance Benefit Period?
Aside from the maximum daily or monthly
benefit amount, your policy will stipulate a maximum benefit period. This is the period in which you will receive your
insurance benefits.
Your LTCI benefit period can run for
three years, four years, five years, or forever. The longer it is, the higher the premium of
your coverage while the shorter it is, the smaller your premium.
It is always ideal to have a longer
benefit period but you have to take your budget into consideration, otherwise
you might not be able to maintain your annual premium and you will be forced to
drop your coverage.
If you are wondering how you can choose
your policy’s maximum benefit period correctly, LTCI experts simply advise that
you have your family physician look over your family’s health history so that
you will know if you are at risk of developing a debilitating disease that will
necessitate more years of care.
Should that be the case, you can sit
down with your LTCI specialist and discuss the probability of adjusting the components
of your coverage so that you can live with a longer benefit period.
If the adjustments do not reap good
results and you’ll still be compelled to pay a high premium because of your long term care insurance benefit period,
you might want to consider a policy under the Partnership Program.
For more information about Partnership
qualified policies, engage your specialist in another round of discussion.
